Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon made his first appearance in 13 months as Hearts scrambled into the fifth round of the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup following a stoppage-time Frankie Kent winner away to cinch League Two side Spartans.
The Jambos looked set for a smooth afternoon against their Edinburgh counterparts when Kenneth Vargas opened the scoring in the 13th minute but a stunning equaliser from James Craigen had the part-time hosts dreaming of a famous result.
Centre-back Kent, however, picked the perfect moment to score his first goal for the Jambos to secure a 2-1 victory and spare his team-mates and manager Steven Naismith from what would have been stinging criticism.
Gordon, playing his first match since suffering a career-threatening double leg-break on Christmas Eve of 2022, was handed the captaincy on his return, with Lawrence Shankland – skipper in the goalkeeper’s absence – missing out through injury.
Hearts’ new right-back Dexter Lembikisa, who joined on loan from Wolves earlier this month, was named among the substitutes and would come on in the 59th minute.
Gordon had such a comfortable opening to proceedings that by the time he first touched the ball his team had already moved into a 13th-minute lead through Vargas.
The Costa Rican forward was perfectly stationed at the back post to nod in from six yards out following an inswinging cross from the left by Alan Forrest.
Hearts dominated possession early on but Gordon was called into action in the 21st minute when he acrobatically tipped over a powerful, swerving 20-yard strike from Callum Booth.
The Jambos remained on top, however, and Forrest saw a couple of low shots from the edge of the box in quick succession saved by Spartans keeper Blair Carswell, whose father Allan was the Hearts goalkeeping coach when the Jambos last won the Scottish Cup 12 years ago.
At the other end, a promising attack brought a rare sight of goal for Spartans but Jamie Dishington shot high over from 25 yards out.
Vargas looked set to double his tally just before the break when he got on the end of a lovely clipped cross from Alex Cochrane in a central position 10 yards out but the forward was denied by an excellent save from Carswell.
The Spartans keeper then produced another impressive stop to keep out Vargas’s shot from the edge of the box early in the second half.
Kent then headed wide from Jorge Grant’s corner before Cochrane saw a shot from distance saved by the outstanding Carswell.
Hearts were made to rue their inability to find a second goal when Craigen volleyed home a magnificent equaliser from the edge of the box, with Gordon left rooted to the spot as the ball flew into his top right-hand corner.
With Spartans generally holding firm in the face of Hearts’ pressure in the closing stages, the tie looked all set for extra time until Kent nodded in Cochrane’s corner.
Portland Timbers v San Jose Earthquakes: 'No time for sulking' – Neville calls on struggling hosts to respond
Phil Neville warned Portland Timbers have "no time for sulking" as the head coach offered an eye-opening appraisal of his side's struggles ahead of their MLS meeting with San Jose Earthquakes.
The Timbers are winless in a club-record nine straight matches after their 2-1 defeat to Seattle Sounders on Saturday.
Portland sit bottom of the Western Conference table and former Inter Miami boss Neville acknowledged the Timbers must improve – and rapidly.
"Massively disappointed, the result in these games is the most important thing," Neville said, looking back at the Seattle loss.
"I have to take full responsibility for this run, in life you get difficult moments and we have to really work hard; make sacrifices – that is the message for the players.
"There's no time for sulking, any criticism that comes our way has to be aimed at me. I select the team, the system, the tactics over the last nine games.
"We've got to be better, but I am absolutely convinced we are going to get this right.
"We've got to go out fighting, the results have to change very quickly. I am under no illusions about that."
The Quakes are just a position above the Timbers but overcame Colorado Rapids 3-2 in their last outing, suggesting to coach Luchi Gonzalez that his side are starting to click into gear.
"We had quite a bit of new additions to the team," he explained. "They're good players and they need time to adapt to this league.
"They're showing more confidence and showing how they can adapt to this league.
"We need to support them. We need to on and off the field know that with more time, this group can compete with anybody in the league."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Portland Timbers – Evander
Evander remains Neville's go-to man, having scored four and assisted three in just eight league appearances this year.
The Brazilian leads the Timbers for goal contributions in MLS this term, and Neville will hope his star man can deliver once more here.
San Jose Earthquakes – Hernan Lopez
Hernan Lopez was one player referenced by Gonzalez as needing time to find comfort in his new surroundings.
The Quakes man did just that on his first MLS start, scoring to overturn a two-goal deficit against Colorado.
MATCH PREDICTION – PORTLAND TIMBERS WIN
Portland are the overwhelming favourites for victory here, going unbeaten in 20 straight home matches against San Jose in all competitions (W16 D4) – dating back to September 2011.
That is the Timbers' second-longest home unbeaten run by one MLS team against another in all competitions, with this a chance to extend that impressive run.
Yet it will be by no means one-way traffic, considering Portland made it a club-record nine straight regular-season matches without a win (D3 L6), including three straight losses, with defeat to Seattle.
San Jose have also won three straight matches in all competitions for the first time in three years, setting this up for an enticing clash.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Portland Timbers win – 55.8%
San Jose Earthquakes win – 19.6%
Draw – 24.6%
Colorado Rapids v Vancouver Whitecaps: Armas demands response for home fans
Chris Armas called on his Colorado Rapids side to pay back the support of their fans when Vancouver Whitecaps visit Dick's Sporting Goods Park in MLS.
The Rapids fell to a 3-2 reverse at home to San Jose Earthquakes in their last outing, missing the chance to make it four wins in five league games.
Sixth-placed Colorado are one of three teams on 18 points, behind Los Angeles FC and also the Caps in the Western Conference standings, and head coach Armas wants to make home advantage count for this one.
"I'd like to acknowledge our fans once again, they came out in good numbers to support the team, gave us good energy on a rainy night [against San Jose]," Armas said.
"They still came out and supported us. We don't take that lightly.
"We have to do better and we will get back, dust ourselves off. Wednesday becomes really important again, so we'll ramp it up."
The Caps return to action after a 3-0 defeat to Los Angeles FC last time out, leaving them level on points with Colorado.
Vancouver head coach Vanni Sartini will be desperate for a response from his side after slamming their performance against the Rapids.
"I don't want to be misunderstood, it's not out of this world that we lost here," Sartini said of the LAFC defeat.
"You can sometimes lose away. It was the performance in the first half which was actually bad, so that's the thing that makes me a little p***ed off…
"We were losing every battle. We killed ourselves doing things that we never do."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Colorado Rapids – Rafael Navarro
Rafael Navarro has scored in consecutive games for the Rapids for the second time this year (also in April).
The only Rapids player to score in three straight games since the beginning of the 2020 season was Diego Rubio, who did so in August 2022.
Vancouver Whitecaps – Brian White
Brian White became the Caps' top scorer in history last month and leads the club charts for goals once more this season.
The Vancouver forward has five goals in just 10 games this term and will be hoping to continue that run against the Rapids.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
The Whitecaps have lost only one of their last seven visits to Colorado (W3 D3), dating back to 2017. That suggests Sartini will hope to leave Colorado with at least a point.
Vancouver also hold a record of W10 D3 L5 in Wednesday regular-season matches since the beginning of the 2021 season, with the 10 wins in that time more than any other MLS team.
Yet Colorado's loss to San Jose was just the fourth defeat in the last 15 regular-season home games (W5 D6), after losing three home league games in a row last May.
That three-match losing run is the last time Colorado lost consecutive home matches, which Armas will hope to avoid here.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Colorado Rapids win – 44.3%
Vancouver Whitecaps win – 27.5%
Draw – 28.2%
Girona 0-1 Villarreal: Traore strike lifts Yellow Submarine
Bertrand Traore's goal gave Villarreal a 1-0 win at Girona on Tuesday that prevented the hosts from reclaiming second spot in LaLiga.
Girona, who have enjoyed a superb campaign, are third with 75 points, trailing Barcelona, who moved a point clear with a 2-0 home win over Real Sociedad on Monday.
Alexander Sorloth and Goncalo Guedes went close for Villarreal in the first half, but Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga was in fine form.
Traore broke the deadlock in the 59th minute after latching on to a superb pass from Guedes, however.
Viktor Tsyhankov, Savio and Artem Dovbyk all went close for Girona, but could not find the back of Filip Jorgensen's net.
Villarreal were reduced to 10 men in the 95th minute after Kiko Femenia was sent off for a second yellow card after a push on Aleix Garcia.
Data Debrief: Rare home loss for Girona
Girona have suffered only their second defeat at Montilivi in LaLiga this season, following a 0-3 loss to Real Madrid in September.
The home side attempted 749 passes in this game, their highest total in a single match in LaLiga this season.
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